The man who was recovered from a pond behind Action Sports Center on Gateway Drive has been identified.
Matthew O. Mitchell Jr., 33, of Dayton was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Montgomery County Coroner Kent E. Harshbarger.
Divers recovered the fisherman’s body Wednesday night after he went into the pond to clear a snagged bobber and never resurfaced, fire District Chief Mike Fasnacht said.
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The two other fishermen with Mitchell said he began to struggle after he entered the water and then went under, Fasnacht said, noting the water is about 20 feet deep where he went in.
Crews from Dayton and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and a Five Rivers MetroPark dive team initiated the water rescue just after 8 p.m. in response to a call to 9-1-1 that a man, believed to be in his 30s, went into the water and did not resurface.
Sonar was used to locate the victim as divers were searching blind because of the darkness and the debris in the pond, such as steel rebar and other solid materials, Fasnacht said.
The case remains under investigation by Dayton police.
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